These fresh shrimp spring rolls are bursting with fresh flavor! My clients eat these lovely spring rolls any time of year. I especially love them during spring which is why it was on their menu today. They are light but surprisingly filling! It’s packed with colorful nutrient dense veggies! It’s gluten free and did I mention delicious!

Using a mandolin helps keep the julienne vegetables in uniform size but not necessary. Feel free to use any veggies you like. One of my clients that often wants this happens to like this combination but the possibilities are endless. Sometimes I will add a layer of jasmine rice which is how my kids like it, or vermicelli rice noodles. Avocado and red cabbage add even more nutrients. Fresh herbs like cilantro or mint are great additions too! However, when it comes to lettuce in these fresh spring rolls; the “living lettuce” that comes in a shell with the roots is the way to go. Otherwise, it’s cumbersome to roll and tends to make holes using a harder lettuce like romaine. If that is all that is available then just remove the spine of the lettuce and use the pliable leaves.

This is a great friday night appetizer or light dinner after a long week with a glass of Prosecco or I suppose a Saki might go too! Hmmm, know what else would be delicious with these fresh shrimp spring rolls? A delicious sparkling fresh green juice with a little bit of fruit topped served in a wine glass to give it extra pizazz! The best part of the green juice is it won’t make you tired like a glass of Prosecco will. It will energize you! And, you can feel awesome drinking it! These spring rolls can be prepared ahead of time. It keeps in the fridge for up to 2 days pretty well. Keep it in a sealed glass container that is lined with non-stick aluminum foil so it does not stick – parchment paper tends to stick for some reason. Once it’s cold it actually doesn’t stick too much.

You can find rice paper wrappers at your local Whole Foods stores or asian market. I usually buy them online at amazon so I have them on hand any time I want a fresh snack or light meal. Look in the natural food aisle of your local supermarket for coconut aminos and asian section for the chile garlic sauce.

Most of all don’t fret on the process of making them. It really comes together quickly and is a lot easier than it looks!

If you try these delicious spring rolls please post a comment and let me know how you liked them.

Instructions

Shrimp: bring a 3 qt pot of water to a boil. Add cleaned shrimp to the boiling water, and simmer for 3-4 minutes. Drain and set aside to cool. Once cool slice in half lengthwise, set aside until ready to assemble.

Vegetables: julienne all the vegetables into matchstick size pieces. See recipe notes if you'd like to watch a video. Otherwise, a mandolin also helps if you have one. Keep each julienned vegetable separated and on paper towels to absorb extra water before assembling.

Rice Paper Prep: once you have the filling ready and you are ready to assemble. Keep a pan large enough to hold the wrapper such as a cake or pie pan with hot water from tap. Place one rice paper in the hot water at a time prior to wrapping. It softens in about 20-30 seconds. Once it is softened, place one wrapper on the non-stick foil, blot with a paper towel. Sometimes I lift it with two hands to dry it a bit as well. I usually blot it with a paper towel, wipe the foil and than flip it to the other side before proceeding to wrap.

To wrap: Place one split shrimp on the softened rice paper about 1/3 in (closest to you). The pink side of the shrimp should be face down. Next, add about 1-2 leaves of lettuce folded, and proceed to add a handful at a time of each vegetable, keeping it neat. When you are assembling one, add a new fresh wrapper to the water so it's ready when you are ready to roll the next.

To roll: hold the filling and bring the side closest to you over and around. Start to roll then fold in the sides and continue rolling tightly. It should automatically stick. Try to keep it as tight as possible.

Slice the fresh shrimp spring roll in half and serve with the asian dipping sauce.

Asian Dipping Sauce Instructions:

Mix first 7 ingredients together then swirl in sesame oil at the end. Adjust seasons to your taste.

Recipe Notes

It is actually easier if you are not familiar with how to julienne vegetables to just hop on over to u-tube than me trying to explain it in the instructions.

Coconut aminos is a gluten free "soy sauce" that is made from coconuts but does not taste like coconuts and is healthier than tamari or regular soy sauce. It is a bit sweeter and not as salty or strong as tamari. It's perfect for this dipping sauce. Should you choose to use tamari sauce over coconut aminos you will need to cut it with a bit of water as well as add some honey to sweeten it up.

As noted on the blog, other variations of fillings are great as well, jasmine rice, vermicelli rice noodles, avocado, red cabbage, etc.